South Carolina Amtrak crash: Two killed after trains collide

A train carrying 147 people has collided with a goods train in the US state of South Carolina, killing at least two people, local police say.More than 50 people were injured. The train’s lead engine and several passenger carriages derailed in the crash, Amtrak said in a statement.The train was operating between New York and Miami.It comes four days after a lorry driver was killed when his vehicle hit a train carrying lawmakers in Virginia.The local sheriff department confirmed the fatalities in the crash, which happened early on Sunday in the city of Cayce, just outside the state capital, Columbia.

According to Amtrak, there were 139 passengers and eight staff members on board the train. It is not known how many people were inside the goods train.Concerns about Amtrak’s safety standards have been raised after a number of fatal train crashes in recent years. Last December, three people were killed when a passenger train derailed after hitting a 30mph (50km/h) curve at 80mph in Washington state.On Wednesday, six people were injured when a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, struck a lorry, killing its driver.